Start Bjelica

[Kuya]

I love his role. Teams won't be able to handle him and Poole/Klay off the bench.

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[Scoots1994]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

I think that is spelled W-i-s-e-m-a-n.

[Warriors Analyst]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

Bjelica just played Jordan last night and it went fine.

[DonaldSanders]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

We don't need to find a center. I like what Kerr does in terms of playing a traditional big like Looney earlier in the game when the bigs have more energy, then bring in the mid-ball once everyone is a little bit tired. The energy of our mid-ball kills big teams.

I like not starting our finishing lineup, it really throws off teams. A common theme in sports/esports is that a good team can figure out another team over time. The Warriors give you multiple looks and you don't get time every game to figure it out/adjust.

The real "starting" role is whoever finishes games for us. That's why Iggy was kind of a bench starter, he played every crunch time minute he was healthy for.

[SpreeChokeJob]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

We don't need to find a center. I like what Kerr does in terms of playing a traditional big like Looney earlier in the game when the bigs have more energy, then bring in the mid-ball once everyone is a little bit tired. The energy of our mid-ball kills big teams.

I like not starting our finishing lineup, it really throws off teams. A common theme in sports/esports is that a good team can figure out another team over time. The Warriors give you multiple looks and you don't get time every game to figure it out/adjust.

The real "starting" role is whoever finishes games for us. That's why Iggy was kind of a bench starter, he played every crunch time minute he was healthy for.

I think a center is useful for Steph. Yesterday when Green set that screen on Bradley for Steph, that was an easy shot. Now if they had a bigger body who could screen like Bogut or Zaza, it really unlocks Curry. His ability to get open or separation increases. He’s working super hard to break free right now. If the guy guarding him has to run into a brick wall 5-10 times a game they will start to feel it later on.

Also the toughness to payback the other teams for trying to bully. Neither Looney or Wiseman deliver the above two qualities.

[Dom801e]

I think the roster construction along with Draymond’s age will lead to less of him at C.

Loon, Bjeli and Wiseman can combine for the full 48 minutes. They all bring some different.

Going small will be at the 4 with Wiggins, JTA, or Iggy.

[FNQ]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

Bjelica just played Jordan last night and it went fine.

And AD too.. he played smart defense down low. If that's legit, he's probably our best C option all year

Its so weird that one of our bigs is dragged for being slow and the other one isn't.. like all of our Cs are slow except for Wiseman, who's slower with mental part of his game until proven otherwise.

These pre-packaged arguments though, they gotta go

[Scoots1994]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

Bjelica just played Jordan last night and it went fine.

Jordan is wildly over-rated.

[Scoots1994]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

Bjelica just played Jordan last night and it went fine.

And AD too.. he played smart defense down low. If that's legit, he's probably our best C option all year

Its so weird that one of our bigs is dragged for being slow and the other one isn't.. like all of our Cs are slow except for Wiseman, who's slower with mental part of his game until proven otherwise.

These pre-packaged arguments though, they gotta go

It's a pre-packaged argument what Wiseman is going to be this year. We REALLY don't know. When last we saw him play he was doing better than he was 2 weeks before that, and it's been many months since then. Wiseman's off-season hasn't been ideal because of his injury, but because of Covid his first off-season was non-existent. It's entirely possible his game will be so different it will seem he's a completely different player. We really don't know.

I like Bjelly a lot, but he's going to need help too.

[FNQ]

Bjelica just played Jordan last night and it went fine.

And AD too.. he played smart defense down low. If that's legit, he's probably our best C option all year

Its so weird that one of our bigs is dragged for being slow and the other one isn't.. like all of our Cs are slow except for Wiseman, who's slower with mental part of his game until proven otherwise.

These pre-packaged arguments though, they gotta go

It's a pre-packaged argument what Wiseman is going to be this year. We REALLY don't know. When last we saw him play he was doing better than he was 2 weeks before that, and it's been many months since then. Wiseman's off-season hasn't been ideal because of his injury, but because of Covid his first off-season was non-existent. It's entirely possible his game will be so different it will seem he's a completely different player. We really don't know.

I like Bjelly a lot, but he's going to need help too.

Not sure how it became about Wiseman, but level-setting him as the exact player he was when he went down with injury is a pretty acceptable default, I would think

Whereas the built in critique of Bjelica being slow as a reason he belongs on the bench (as if Looney isnt) or that he's just being defaulted as bad at defense, those seem much more problematic from an analysis standpoint.

[Popovich]

Not sure how it became about Wiseman, but level-setting him as the exact player he was when he went down with injury is a pretty acceptable default, I would think

Whereas the built in critique of Bjelica being slow as a reason he belongs on the bench (as if Looney isnt) or that he's just being defaulted as bad at defense, those seem much more problematic from an analysis standpoint.

I admit you are right, it makes sense, IDK why I wrote that, probably felt that I must list some reasons for why I think he is better off the bench.

[FNQ]

Not sure how it became about Wiseman, but level-setting him as the exact player he was when he went down with injury is a pretty acceptable default, I would think

Whereas the built in critique of Bjelica being slow as a reason he belongs on the bench (as if Looney isnt) or that he's just being defaulted as bad at defense, those seem much more problematic from an analysis standpoint.

I admit you are right, it makes sense, IDK why I wrote that, probably felt that I must list some reasons for why I think he is better off the bench.

I mean its not untrue, he's definitely not quick. And I do think you have to bring him off the bench because Looney off the bench would not go well either. But I do think that if you're picking between Looney and Nemo at the end of the game - for whatever reason - you are almost always going to go Nemo. Offensively he's way better, and if last night is any indication, he's pretty close defensively, and possibly better. That said if the Lakers finished better at the rim last night, it would look worse to a lot here. But I appreciate that he stayed locked on AD and made the Lakers try to finish themselves instead of giving AD the easy dunks/putbacks

[Crazy-Canuck]

Im seeing peak Boris Diaw minus the partying and laziness.

[Impuniti]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

We don't need to find a center. I like what Kerr does in terms of playing a traditional big like Looney earlier in the game when the bigs have more energy, then bring in the mid-ball once everyone is a little bit tired. The energy of our mid-ball kills big teams.

I like not starting our finishing lineup, it really throws off teams. A common theme in sports/esports is that a good team can figure out another team over time. The Warriors give you multiple looks and you don't get time every game to figure it out/adjust.

The real "starting" role is whoever finishes games for us. That's why Iggy was kind of a bench starter, he played every crunch time minute he was healthy for.

I think a center is useful for Steph. Yesterday when Green set that screen on Bradley for Steph, that was an easy shot. Now if they had a bigger body who could screen like Bogut or Zaza, it really unlocks Curry. His ability to get open or separation increases. He’s working super hard to break free right now. If the guy guarding him has to run into a brick wall 5-10 times a game they will start to feel it later on.

Also the toughness to payback the other teams for trying to bully. Neither Looney or Wiseman deliver the above two qualities.

I disagree on Looney, he is a very good screen setter. However, I do think Wiseman and esp Bjelica need to improve on this front. Bjelica either doesn't set strong screens or slips most of the time. It's fine to slip here & there, but you need to set the damn screen as well.

The goal is for Wiseman to become the player a lot of people want. Whether he does, we will start seeing 1-2 months from now.

[Scoots1994]

I disagree on Looney, he is a very good screen setter. However, I do think Wiseman and esp Bjelica need to improve on this front. Bjelica either doesn't set strong screens or slips most of the time. It's fine to slip here & there, but you need to set the damn screen as well.

The goal is for Wiseman to become the player a lot of people want. Whether he does, we will start seeing 1-2 months from now.

I actually kind of like the players on the roster at center when looking at what could be.

Looney, position defense, good understanding of how they want to play on both ends, doesn't make mistakes, very athletically limited, and probably can't hold up to even medium minutes, and can't really bang with offensive minded big centers.

Bjelly, shooter, better feel for the game on both ends than I expected, he's a Warrior type who should get better meshing with the team and scheme as the year goes on.

Green, limited scoring, limited size and aging player means they need to minimize his time banging down low to maximize health for the playoffs. Great defender, totally understands the offense. The real team leader, and THE key to the team maximizing it's talent.

Wiseman, big, athletic, raw skills, mentally far from able to take advantage of his tools. We have NO IDEA what growth has happened in his game in the last 6+ months since we last saw him, but supposedly he's in much better physical shape and his mental game has progressed considerably. We'll have to see.

JTA, Green lite with better shooting and lesser defense and leadership.

Kuminga, other than the athleticism we don't really know what his game will be by the end of this year.

[Impuniti]

I disagree on Looney, he is a very good screen setter. However, I do think Wiseman and esp Bjelica need to improve on this front. Bjelica either doesn't set strong screens or slips most of the time. It's fine to slip here & there, but you need to set the damn screen as well.

The goal is for Wiseman to become the player a lot of people want. Whether he does, we will start seeing 1-2 months from now.

I actually kind of like the players on the roster at center when looking at what could be.

Looney, position defense, good understanding of how they want to play on both ends, doesn't make mistakes, very athletically limited, and probably can't hold up to even medium minutes, and can't really bang with offensive minded big centers.

Bjelly, shooter, better feel for the game on both ends than I expected, he's a Warrior type who should get better meshing with the team and scheme as the year goes on.

Green, limited scoring, limited size and aging player means they need to minimize his time banging down low to maximize health for the playoffs. Great defender, totally understands the offense. The real team leader, and THE key to the team maximizing it's talent.

Wiseman, big, athletic, raw skills, mentally far from able to take advantage of his tools. We have NO IDEA what growth has happened in his game in the last 6+ months since we last saw him, but supposedly he's in much better physical shape and his mental game has progressed considerably. We'll have to see.

JTA, Green lite with better shooting and lesser defense and leadership.

Kuminga, other than the athleticism we don't really know what his game will be by the end of this year.

One thing Warriors will have this season is more tactical flexibility than any other team. You have Steph, Dray to run the show and a lot of different pieces that work and play different from each other. A lot of fun for Kerr to play around with (and succeed or screw up).

[floppymoose]

While I think Looney is a better fit with the starters in general, everything is situational. There will be times where Bjelica is the one who should be mixed in with starters. It's nice to have options.

I do really worry about Looney getting hurt now that Chriss is gone. I don't want to have to rely on Wiseman yet. He should be someone who gets development opportunities instead of force-fed starter minutes.

[GunnerWRX]

The way Belly is playing, Looney will only get 6 min in Q1, and 6 min here and there in Q2 and Q3. Looney won't be there to finish games anymore the way Belly is playing.

Looney will average closer to 10-15 minutes, instead of 16-20 minutes.

He will be well rested.

[cladden]

I think GS needs to find a real center, you can't expect that Bjelica can defend any traditional big center( for example Nurkic). He can help a little bit when opponents run some lighter versions of centers but versus let's say Adams or Jordan he would look helpless on the court. Any decent traditional big man would be very helpful for this Warriors team. Also due to his age and slowness, I feel that Nemanja is better of the bench for now.

Bjelica just played Jordan last night and it went fine.

Jordan is wildly over-rated.

Is he? Has anyone thought of him as a difference maker since CP left the Clippers?

[ILOVEIT]

Well here's the question:

How many centers in the league today require a big physical defensive center to defend them? Even the Joker and Embiid play as much outside as inside. Given that, why wouldn't we want a more gifted offensive player....3 point shooter and passer....over an undersized guy that might offer a little more resistance defensively?

Really...asking...who are the centers in the league that we need to worry about?

Let's focus on passing and ability to set a pick and then DO SOMETHING AFTER THAT ACTION...including take a three point short or make the next really good pass.